Aspendos, located beside the river Eurymedon (Köprüçay), is renowned
throughout the world for its magnificent ancient amphitheatre.

According to Greek legend, the city was founded by Argive colonists who,
under the leadership of the hero Mopsos, came to Pamphylia after the Trojan War.
Aspendos was one of the first cities in the region to strike coinage under its
own name. On these silver staters dated to the fifth and fourth century B.C.,
however, the name of the city is written es Estwediiys in the local script. A
late eighth century B.C. bilingual inscription carved in both Hittite
hieroglyphs and the Phoenician alphabet discovered in the 1947 excavation of
Karatepe near Adana, states that Asitawada, the king of Danunum (Adana), founded
a city called Azitawadda, a derivation of his own name, and that he was a member
of the Muksas, or Mopsus, dynasty. The striking similarity between the names
"Estwediiys" and "azitawaddi" suggests the possibility that
Aspendos was the city this king founded.

Aspendos did not play an important role in antiquity as a political force.
Its political history during the colonization period corresponded to the
currents of the Pamphylian region. Within this trend, after the colonial period,
it remained for a time under Lycian hegemony. In 546 B.C. it came under Persian
domination. The face that the city continued to mint coins in its own name,
however, indicates that it had a great deal of freedom even under the Persians.

In 467 B.C. the statesman and military commander Cimon, and his fleet of 200
ships, destroyed the Persian navy based at the mouth of the river Eurymedon in a
surprise attack. In order to crush to Persian land forces, he tricked the
Persians by sending his best fighters to shore wearing the garments of the
hostages he had seized earlier. When they saw these men, the Persians thought
that they were compatriots freed by the enemy and arranged festivities in
celebration. Taking advantage of this, Cimon landed and annihilated the
Persians. Aspendos then became a member of the Attic-Delos Maritime league.

The Persians captured the city again in 411 B.C. and used it as a base. In
389 B.C. the commander of Athens, in an effort to regain some of the prestige
that city had lost in the Peloponnesian Wars, anchored off the coast of Aspendos
in an effort to secure its surrender. Hoping to avoid a new war, the people of
Aspendos collected money among themselves and gave it to the commander,
entreating him to retreat without causing any damage. Even though he took the
money, he had his men trample all the crops in the fields. Enraged, the
Aspendians stabbed and killed the Athenian commander in his tent.

When Alexander the Great marched into Aspendos in 333 B.C. after capturing
Perge, the citizens sent envoys to him to request that he would not establish
that he be given the taxes and horses that they had formerly paid as tribute to
the Persian king. After reaching this agreement. Alexander went to Side, leaving
a garrison there on the city's surrender. Going back through Sillyon, he learned
that the Aspendians had failed to ratify the agreement their envoys had proposed
and were preparing to defend themselves. Alexander marched to the city
immediately. When they saw Alexander returning with his troops, the Aspendians,
who had retreated to their acropolis, again sent envoys to sue for peace. This
time, however, they had to agree to very harsh terms; a Macedonian garrison
would remain in the city and 100 gold talents as well as 4.000 horses would be
given in tax annually.

During the wars that followed the death of Alexander, the city came
alternately under the control of the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, later falling
into the hands of the Kingdom of Pergamum, to which it remained bound until 133
B.C.

From Cicero's presentation of the case before the Roman senate, we know that
in 79 B.C. Gaius Verres, the questor of Cilicia, pillaged Aspendos just as he
had Perge. Verres, right in front of the citizens, took statues from the temples
and squares and had them loaded into carts. He even had Aspendos famous statue
of a harpist set up in his own home.

Aspendos, like most of the other Pamphylian cities, reached its height in the
second and third centuries A.D. Most of the monumental architecture still
visible here today dates to this golden age. Although the city was not on the
coast, the river Eurymedon, on whose banks it was situated, allowed ships to
reach it. This accessibility, together with the productive plain and the thickly
forested mountains that lay behind Aspendos, were major factors in its
development. Gold and silver embroidered tapestries woven in the city, furniture
and figurines made from the wood of lemon trees, salt obtained from nearby Lake
Capria, wine, and especially the famous horses of Aspendos were its foremost
exports. Although they were renowned as grape growers and wine merchants, they
did not offer wine to their gods in their religious rites. They explained this
omission by saying that if wine were reserved for the gods, birds would not have
the courage to eat grapes.

Few Aspendians made a name for themselves in history. Andromachos was a
famous military commander in his day and was also the governor of Phoenicia and
Syria. Little is known of the work of the native philosopher Diodorus, but that
he wore the long hair, dirty clothes, and bare feet of the Cynics, which
suggests he was influenced by Pythagorus.

At the beginning of the thirteenth century, Aspendos began to bear the
imprint of settlement by the Seljuk Turks, especially during the reign of
Alaeddin Keykubat I, when the theatre was thoroughly restored, embellished in
Seljuk style with elegant tiles, and used as a palace.

At the end of the road that turns off the Antalya -Alanya highway, we come to
the most magnificent, as well as functionally the best resolved and most
complete example of a Roman theatre. The building, faithful to the Greek
tradition, is partially built into the slope of a hill. Today visitors enter the
stage building via a door opened in the facade during a much later period. The
original entrances, however, are the vaulted paradoses at both ends of the stage
building. The cavea is semicircular in shape and divided in two by a large
diazoma. There are 21 tiers of seats above and 20 below. To provide ease of
circulation so that the spectators could reach their seats without difficulty,
radiating stairways were built, 10 in the lower level starting at the orchestra
and 21 in the upper beginning at the diazoma. A wide gallery consisting of 59
arches and thought to have been built at a later date, goes from one end of the
upper cavea to the other. From an architectural point of view, the diazoma's
vaulted gallery acts as a substructure supporting the upper cavea. As a general
rule of protocol, the private boxes above the entrances on both sides of the
cavea were reserved for the Imperial family and the vestal virgins. Beginning
from the orchestra and going up, the first row of seats belonged to senators,
judges, and ambassadors, while the second was reserved for other notables of the
city. The remaining sections were open to all the citizens. The women usually
sat on the upper rows under the gallery. From the names carved on certain seats
in the upper cavea, it is clear that these too were reserved. Although it is
impossible to determine the exact seating capacity of the theatre, it is said to
have seated between 10,000 and 12,000 people. In recent years, concerts given in
the theatre as part of the Antalya Film and Art Festival, have shown that as
many as 20,000 spectators can be crowded into the seating area.

Without doubt the Aspendos theatre's most striking component is the stage
building. On the lower floor of this two-storey structure, which is built of
conglomerate rock, were five doors providing the actors entrance to the stage.
The large door at the centre was known as the porta regia, and the two smaller
ones on either side as the porta hospitales. The small doors at orchestra level
belong to long corridors leading to the areas where the wild animals were kept.
From surviving fragments it appears that sculptural works were placed in niches
and aedicula under triangular and semicircular pediments.

In the pediment at the centre of the colonnaded upper floor is a relief of
Dionysos, the god of wine and the founder and patron of theatres. Red zigzag
motifs against white plaster, visible on some portions of the stage building,
date to the Seljuk period. The top of the stage building is covered with a
highly ornamented wooden roof.

The theatre at Aspendos is also famous for its magnificent accoustics. Even
the sligtest sound made at the centre of the orchestra can be easily hear as far
as the uppermost galleries. Anatolia's patricians, who lived in the midst of a
rich cultural heritage, created stories connected with the cities and monuments
around them. One of these tales which has been passed down from generation to
generation is about Aspendos' theatre. The king of Aspendos proclaimed that he
would hold a contest to see what man could render the greatest service to the
city; the winner would marry the king's
daughter. Hearing this, the artisans of
the city began to work at high speed. At last, when the day of the decision came
and the king had examined all their efforts one by one, he designated two
candidates. The first of them had succeeded in setting up a system that enabled
water to be brought to the city from great distances via aqueducts. The second
built the theatre. Just as the king was on the point of deciding in favour of
the first candidate, he was asked to have one more look at the theatre. While he
was wandering about in the upper galleries, a deep voice from an unknown source
out saying again and again, "The king's daughter must be given to me"
. In astonishment the king looked around for the owner of the voice but could
find no one. It was, of course, the architect himself, proud of the accoustical
masterpiece he had created, who was speaking in a low voice from the stage. In
the end, it was the architect who won the beautiful girl and the wedding
ceremony took place in the theatre.

We know from an inscription in the southern parados that the theatre was
constructed during the reign of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180 A.D.) by
the architect Zeno, the son of an Aspendian named Theodoros. According to the
inscription, the people of Aspendos, out of admiration for Zeno, awarded him a
large garden beside the stadium. Greek and Latin inscriptions above the
entrances on both sides of the stage building tell us that, two brothers named
Curtius Crispinus and Curtius Auspicatus commissioned the building and dedicated
it to the gods and the Imperial family.

No fee was charged for putting on a performance in the theatre. A portion of
the necessary production costs were
covered by civic institutions, but after the
performance, part of the profits was turned over to these organizations.
Generally one had to pay a fee or buy tickets to gain entry to plays or
competitions. Tickets were made of metal, ivory, bone, or in most cases, fired
clay, with a picture on one side and a row and seat number on the other.

Aspendos' other principal remains are above the acropolis, behind the
theatre. The first building one comes to on the acropolis, which is reached via
a footpath starting alongside the theatre, is a basilica measuring 27x105 metres.
The basilica is an architectural from invented by the Romans. Roman basilicas
were used for a wide wariety of purposes, but these were all concerned with
public affairs. Markets and law courts were set up in buildings. The basilica
plan consists of a large central hall surrounded by smaller chambers. The
central hall is separated from those at the sides by columns and its roof is
higher. İnside the basilica is a tribunal. During the Byzantine era the
building underwent major alterations and lost much of its original character.

South of the basilica and bounded on three sides by houses, is the agora, the
centre of the city's commercial, social, and political activities. A little
further to the west are twelve shops of equal size all in a line at the rear of
a stoa.

North of the agora is a nymphaeum of which only the front wall remains
standing. Measuring 32.5 m. in width by 15 m. in height, this two-level facade
has five niches at each level. The middle niche in the lower level is larger
than the others and is thought have been used as a door. It is clear from the
marble bases at the foot of the wall that the building originally had a
colonnaded facade.

Behind the nymphaeum is a building of unusual plan, either an odeon or a
bouleuterion where council members met.

Another of Aspendos' remains that should not be missed is its aqueduct. This
one kilometre-long series of arches which brought water to the city from the
mountains at the north, represents an extraordinary feat of engineering and is
one of the rare examples surviving antiquity. The water was brought from ist
source in a channel formed by hollowed stone blocks on top of 15 metre-high
arches. Near both ends of the aqueduct the water was collected in towers some 30
metres high, which was distributed to the city.

An inscription found in Aspendos tells us that a certain Tiberius Claudius
Italicus had the aqueduct built, and presented it to the city. Its architectural
features and construction techniques date it to the middle of the second century
A.D.

Greek ASPENDOS, modern BELKIS,
ancient city of Pamphylia, now in southwestern Turkey. It is noted for its Roman
ruins. A wide range of coinage from the 5th century BC onward attests to the
city's wealth. Aspendus was occupied by Alexander the Great in 333 BC and later
passed from Pergamene to Roman rule in 133 BC. According to Cicero, it was
plundered of many of its artistic treasures by the provincial governor Verres.
The hilltop ruins of the city include a basilica, an agora, and some rock-cut
tombs of Phrygian design. A huge theatre, one of the finest in the world, is
carved out of the northeast flank of the hill. It was designed by the Roman
architect Zeno in honour of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (reigned AD 161-180)

The present-day Belkiz was once situated on the banks of the River Eurymedon,
now known as the Kopru Cay. In
ancient times it was navigable; in fact, according to Strabo, the Persians
anchored their ships there in 468 B.C., before the epic battle against the
Delian Confederation.

It is commonly believed that Aspendos was founded by colonists from Argos.
One thing is certain: right from the beginning of the 5th century, Aspendos and
Side were the only two towns to mint coins. An important river trading port, it
was occupied by Alexander the Great in 333 B.C. because it refused to pay
tribute to the Macedonian king. It became an ally of Rome after the Battle of
Sipylum in 190 B.C. and entered the Roman Empire.

The town is built against two hills: on the "great hill" or Buyuk
Tepe stood the acropolis, with the agora, basilica, nymphaeum and bouleuterion
or "council chamber". Of all these buildings, which were the very hub
of the town, only ruins remain. About one kilometer north of the town, one can
still see the remains of the Roman aqueduct that supplied Aspendos with water, transporting it from a distance
of over twenty kilometers, and which still maintains its original height.

Aspendos' theatre is the best preserved Roman theatre anywhere in
Turkey. It was designed during the 2nd century A.D. by the architect Zeno, son
of Theodore and originally from Aspendos. Its two benefactors— the brothers
Curtius Crispinus and Curtius Auspicatus —dedicated it to the Imperial family
as can be seen from certain engravings on the stones. Discovered in 1871 by
Count Landskonski during one of his trips to the region, the theatre is in
excellent condition thanks to the top quality of the calcareous stone and to the
fact that the Seljuks turned it into a palace, reinforcing the entire north wing with bricks. Its thirty-nine tiers of steps—96
meters long—could seat about twenty thousand spectators. At the top, the
elegant gallery and covered arcade sheltered spectators. One is immediately
struck by the integrity and architectural distinction of the stage building,
consisting of a Irons scacnae which opens with five doors onto the proscenium
and
scanned by two orders of windows which also project onto the outside wall.
There is an
amusing anecdote about the construction of this theatre—in which
numerous plays are still held, given its formidable acoustics — and the
aqueduct just outside the town: in ancient times, the King
of Aspendos had a daughter of rare beauty named Semiramis, contended by two
architects; the king decided to marry her off to the one who built an important
public work in the shortest space of time. The two suitors thus got down to work
and completed two public works at the same time: the theatre and the aquaduct.
As the sovereign liked both buildings, he thought it right and just to divide
his daughter in half. Whereas the designer of the aquaduct accepted the
Solomonic division, the other preferred to grant the princess wholly to her
rival. In this way, the sovereign understood that the designer of the theatre
had not only built a magnificent theatre— which was the pride of the town—,
but would also be an excellent husband to his daughter; consequently he granted
him her hand in marriage.

PERGE

Perge,
one of Pamphylia's foremost cities, was founded on a wide plain between two
hills 4 km. west of the Kestros (Aksu) river.

Skylax, who lived in the fourth century B.C. and was the earliest of the
ancient writers to mention Perge, states that the city was in Pamphylia. In the
New Testament book, Acts of the Apostles, the sentence "...when Paul and
his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perge in Pamphylia" suggests
that Perge could be reached from the sea in ancient times. Just as the Kestros
provides convenient communication today, the diver also played an important role
in antiquity, making the land productive, and securing for Perge the possibility
of sea trade. Despite its being some 12 km. inland from the sea, Perge by means
of the Kestros, was able to benefit from the advantages of the sea as if it were
a coastal city. Moreover, it was removed from the attacks of pirates invading by
sea.

In later copies of a third or fourth century map of the world, Perge is shown
beside the principal road starting at
Pergamum and ending at Side.

According to Strabo, the city was founded after the Trojan War by colonists
from Argos under the leadership of heroes named Mopsos and Calchas. Linguistic
research confirms that Achaeans entered Pamphylia toward the end of the second
millennium B.C. ın addition to these studies, inscriptions dating to
120-121 A.D., discovered in the 1953 excavations in the courtyard of Perge's
Hellenistic city gate, provide further testimony to this colonization;
inscriptions on statue bases mention the names of seven heroes-Mopsos, Calchas,
Riksos, Labos, Machaon, Leonteus, and Minyasas, the legendary founders of the
city.

There
is no further record of Perge in written sources until the middle of the fourth
century. There can be no doubt, however, that Perge was also under Persian rule
until the arrival of Alexander the Great.

In 333 B.C. Perge surrendered to Alexander without resistance. Its submissive
behaviour can be explained by, besides its favourable policy, the fact that at
this period the city was not yet surrounded by protective walls.

With the death of Alexander, Perge remained for a short time within the
boundaries of Antigonos domain and later fell under Seleucid sovereignty. When
the border dispute between the Seleucids and the king of Pergamum continued
after the treaty of Apamea, the Roman consul Manlius Vulso was sent from Rome in
188 A.D. in the capacity of mediator. Learning that Antiochos III had a garrison
in Perge, he surrounded the city at the urging of Pergamum's king. At this point
the garrison commander informed the consul that he could not surrender the city
before obtaining permission from Antiochos; for this, he said he would need
thirty days, at the end of which, Perge passed to Pergamum.

Perge became totally independent when the kingdom of Pergamum was turned over
to Rome in about 133 B.C.

In 79 B.C. the Roman statesman Cicero described to the senate, Cilician
questor Gaius Verres' unlawful conduct in Perge, saying, "As you know,
there is a very old and sacred temple to Diana in Perge. I assert that this was
also robbed and looted by Verres and that the gold was stripped from the statue
of Diana and stolen".

Artemis occupied an important position among the gods and gooddesses held
sacred in Perge. This ancient Anatolian goddess appears on Hellenistic coins
under the name Vanassa Preiia, as she was called in the Pamphylian dialect;
after Greek colonization she became known as Artemis Pergaia. Besides being
rendered on coinage as a cult statue or as a huntress, the Artemis of Perge is
the subject of a variety of statues and reliefs found in excavations of the
city. A relief in the from of a cult statue on a square stone block is
particularly interesting. The cult of Artemis Pergaia also appears in many other
cities, even in countries around the Mediterranean.

As famous as Artemis Pergaia was in the ancient world, no trace of the temple
has yet been found. For the present we must content ourselves with what
knowledge we can get from schematic representations of the temple on coins; of
this renowned monument that safeguarded the gold-adorned statue of Artemis, and
whose scale, beauty, and construction was marvelled at by ancient writers.

In 46 A.D., Perge became the setting of an event important to the Christian
world. The New Testament book, the Acts of the Apostles, writes that St. Paul
journeyed from Cyprus to Perge, from there continued on to Antiocheia in Pisidia,
then returned to Perge where he delivered a ser mon. Then he left the city and
went to Attaleia.

From the beginning of the Imperial era, work projects were carried out in
Perge, and in the second and third centuries A.D., the city grew into one of the
most beautiful, not just in Pamphylia, but in all of Anatolia.

In the first half of the fourth century, during the reign of Constantine the
Great (324-337), Perge became an important centre of Christianity once this
faith had became of official religion of the Roman Empire. The city retained its
status as a Christian centre in the fifth and sixth centuries. Due to frequent
rebellions and raids, the citizens retreated inside the city walls, able to
defend themselves only from within the acropolis. Perge lost its remaining power
in the wake of the mid-seventh century Arab raids. At this time some residents
of the city migrated to Antalya.

The first building one encounters on entering the city is a theatre of
Greco-Roman type constructed on the southern slopes of the Kocabelen hill. The
cavea, slightly more than a semicircle, is divided in two by a wide diazoma
passing through it. It contains 19 seating levels below and 23 above, which
translate into a total seating capacity of about 13,000. In conformance to the
canons of Roman theatre galleries serving as the entrance and exit ways,
spectators reached the diazoma from the parados on either side via vaulted
passages and stairs; from there they were dispersed to their seats.

The orchestra, situated between the cavea and the stage building, is wider
than a semicircle. Because of the gladiatorial and will animal combats popular
in the mid-third century, the orchestra was used as an arena. To keep the
animals from escaping, it was surrounded by carved balustrade panels that passed
between marble knobs made in the form of Herme.

The
partially standing two-storey stage building can be dated to the middle of the
second century A.D. by its columned architecture and sculptural ornamentation.
On the facade, columns between the five doors by which the actors entered and
exited support a narrow podium above. The theatre's most striking feature is a
series of marble reliefs of mythological subject decorating the face of this
podium. The first relief on the right portrays the local god personifying the
Kestros (Aksu) river, Perge's lifeblood, along with one of the mythological
females called nymphs. From here on, the reliefs depict, in serial form, the
entire life story of Dionysos, the god of wine and the founder and protector of
theatres. Dionysos was the son of Zeus and Semele, the daughter of a king and
reputed to be as beautiful as spring. Hera, ever jealous of her husband, wanted
to get rid of Semele along with her son. To trick her, the goddess assumed the
form of the girl's mother and begged Semele to persuade Zeus to let her see him
in all his might and glory. The credulous Semele was taken in by the ruse and
implored Zeus to acquiesce. Zeus, unable to resist the pleas of his beloved,
came down from Olympos on his golden chariot and appeared before her, but the
mortal Semele could not withstand his radiance and was consumed by fire. Dying,
she gave birth to the fruit of her love, who had not yet come to full term, and
threw him from the flames. Zeus took this little boy, sewed him into his hip and
kept him there until his term was completed. It is in this way that the boy was
given the name Dionysos-born once from his mother's womb and coming into the
world a second time from his father's hip. So that the infant could be protected
from Hera's malevolence, fed and brought to manhood, he was taken by Hermes to
the nymphs of Mount Nysa, who raised the boy in a cave, giving him love and
careful attention. Finally, as a young man, Dionysos one day drank the juice of
all the grapes on the vine growing along the cave's walls. This is how wine was
discovered. With the aim of introducing his new drink into every corner of the
globe and spreading the knowledge of viniculture, the god of wine went on a
journey around the world in a chariot drawn by two panthers.

It is unfortunate that an important section of these beautiful reliefs was
damaged as a result of the subsidence of the stage building. From pieces
recovered during excavations begun in 1985, it is evident that the building was
originally decorated with several more friezes on different themes. The subject
of a 5 metre-long frieze from an as yet undetermined part of the building is
especially interesting. Here, Tyche holds a cornucopia in her left hand, and in
her right a cult statue. On either side are the figures of an old man and two
youths bringing bulls for sacrifice to the goddess.

On the right of the asphalt road running from the theatre to the city is one
of the best preserved stadiums to have survived from ancient times to our own.
This huge rectangular building measuring 34x 334 metres, is shaped like a
horseshoe on its north end and open on its south. It is wery likely that the
building was entered at this point via a monumental wooden door. The stadium was
built on a substructure of 70 vaulted chambers, 30 along each long side and 10
on its narrow northern end. These chambers are interconnected, with every third
compartment providing entrance to the theatre. From inscriptions over the
remaining compartments giving the names of their owners and listing various
types of goods,it is clear that these spaces were used as shops. The tiers of
seats which lie on top of these vaulted rooms, provided a seating capacity of
12,000. When gladiatorial and wild animal combat became popular in the mid-third
century, the north end of the stadium was surrounded with a protective
balustrade and turned into an arena. Its architectural style and stone work date
this edifice to the second century A.D.

Another noteworthy ruin outside the city walls is the tomb of Plancia Magna,
who was the daughter of Plancius Verus, the Governor of Bithynia. She was a
wealthy and civic minded woman who, around the beginning of works in Perge, and
who had a number of spots in the city adorned with monuments and sculpture.
Because of her community service, the people, assembly, and senate erected
statues of her. In various inscriptions Plancia's name appears with the title
"demiurgos", which was the highest civil servant in the city's
government. In addition, she was a priestess of Artemis Pergaia, a
priestess-for-life of the mother of the gods, and the head priestess of the cult
of the emperor.

A large part of Perge is encircled by walls that in some places go back to
the Hellenistic period. Towers 12-13 metres high were built on top of the
fortifications. However, during the time of the Pax Romana, which provided a
period of continuous peace and tranquility, the walls lost their importance, and
buildings such as the theatre and stadium could be built beyond the walls
without fear. On entering the city through a late period gate in the fourth
century walls, one comes to a small rectangular court 40 metres long bounded by
walls of later date. From this courtyard one continues through a second,
southern gate built in the form of a triumphal arch and highly decorated,
particularly on the back. This gate leads into a trapezoidal courtyard 92 metres
long and 46 metres wide. On the west wall of this court, which was used as a
ceremonial site during the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.) is
a monumental fountain or nymphaeum. The building consists of a wide pool, and
behind it a two-storeyed richly worked facade. From its inscription, it is
apparent that the structure was dedicated to Artemis Pergaia, Septimius Severus
and his wife Julia Domna, and their sons. An inscription belonging to the
facade, various facade fragments, and marble statues of Septimius Severus and
his wife, all found in excavations of the nymphaeum, are now in the Antalya
Museum.

A monumental propylon directly north of the nymhaeum opens onto the largest
and most magnificent bath in Pamphylia. A large pool (natacia) measuring 13x20
m. covers the inside of an apsed chamber on the south portico of a broad
palaestra; the palaestra is bounded in front by a portico. Pergaians cleansed
themselves in this pool after exercising in the palaestra. It is clear from the
dynamic architecture of the facade, the coloured marble facing, and the statues
of Genius, Heracles, Hygiea, Asklepios and Nemesis, that decorated, this space
must have been dazzlingly beautiful. From here another door leads to the
frigidarium, a space that also contained a pool. Before entering, bathers washed
their feet in water flowing along a shallow channel running the full length of
the pool's north side. Existing evidence suggests that the frigidarium was
adorned with statues of the Muses. Next are the tepidarium and the caldarium,
which connect with each other. Beneath these rooms one can see courses of bricks
belonging tothe hypocaust system that circulated the hot air coming from the
boiler room. Washing in a Roman bath was a proces that took place in several
stages. First the bather removed his clothign in a room called the apodyterium
and from there entered the palaestra where he took his exercise. Then he either
went into the pool to get rid of the dirt and perspiration from this physical
exertion, or washed himself in hot water in the caldarium. From there he went to
the tepidarium or to the frigidarium for a cold water bath. In the Roman era the
bath was not just a place for washing, but was also a place where men met to
pass the time of day or to discuss a variety of important topics. The long
rectangular compartment at the north of the frigidarium was probably a place
where bathers strolled and chatted. A long marble bench extends along this
room's west wall. Inscriptions on a large number of plinths found during
excavations, indicate the statues that once stood on them were donated by a man
named Claudius Peison.

At the northern end of the inner court is a Hellenistic gate that is Perge's
most magnificent structure. Dating to the third
century B.C., this gate, consisting of two towers with a horseshoe-shaped court
behind them, was clevery designed according to the defensive strategy of the
day. The towers had three storeys and were covered with a conical roof. With the
aid of Plancia Magna, several alterations in the decoration of the court were
made between 120 and 122 A.D., changing it from a defensive structure to a court
of honour. To create a facade, the Hellenistic walls were covered with slabs of
coloured marble, several new niches were opened, and Corinthian columns were
added. Figures of gods and goddesses like Aphrodite, Hermes, Pan and the
Dioskouroi occupied the niches on the lower level. In excavations in the court,
the inscribed bases of nine statues were found, but the statues themselves have
not been recovered. According to their inscriptions, these statues which must
have been placed in the niches on the upper level, represent the legendary
heroes who founded Perge after the Trojan War, as described in historical notes.
In inscriptions on two pedestals, the names M. Plancius Varus and C. Plancius
Varus, his son, appear with the adjective meaning "founder",
essentially, because of their goodness and generosity toward Perge, they were
acepted as second founders for whom this honour seemed appropriate.

The horseshoe-shaped court is bounded on the north by a three-arched
monumental gate built by Plancia Magna. Inscriptions on pedestals unearthed in
excavations indicate that statues of the emperors and their wives from the reign
of Nerva to Hadrian, stood in the gate's niches.

An agora 65 metres square is located to the east of the Hellenistic gate. On
all four sides a wide stoa surrounds a central lined with shops. The floor of
these shops is paved with coloured mosaics. An interesting stone used in an
ancient game can be seen in front of one store in the north portico. The game,
which was played with six stones per person and thrown like dice, must have been
very popular throughout the region, as similar stones were also found in other
neighbouring cities. At the centre of the court is a round building, just as
there is in Side's agora; the precise nature of this structure is not yet known.

A colonnaded street runs north-south through the city centre going under the
triumphal arch of Demetrios-Apollonios, currently under restoration, at a point
near the acropolis. This thoroughfare is intersected by another running
east-west. On both sides of this 250 metre-long street are broad porticoes
behind which are rows of shops. In this way the columned architecture on both
sides offers various examples of the Roman understanding of perspective. The
porticoes also provided a place where people could both take shelter from the
violent rains in winter, and protect themselves from Perge's extremely hot
summer sun. Because of their suitability for the climate, avenues of this type
are frequently found in the cities of southern and western Anatolia. Certainly
the most interesting aspect of Perge's colonnaded street is the pool-like water
channel that divides the road down tha middle. Made to flow by the rived god
Kestros, these clear, clean waters ran out of a monumental fountain (nymphaeum)
at the north end of the street and flowed placidly along the channels, cooling
the Pergeians just a little in the cruel Pamphylian heat. At approximately the
middle of the street, four relief-carved columns belonging to the portico
immediately catch the eye. On the first column, Apollo is depicted riding a
chariot drawn by four horses; on the second is Artemis the huntress; the third
shows Calchas, one of the city's mythical founders; and the last, Tyche
(Fortune).

The main road comes to an end at another nymphaeum built at the foot of the
acropolis in the second century A.D. The rich architecture of its two-tiered
facade and its numerous statues make it one of Perge's most striking monuments.
The water brought from the spring empties into a pool beneath the statue of the
river god Kestros standing precisely in the centre of the fountain, and from
there flows to the streets via channels.

Turning left from the triumphal arch of Apollonios that intersects the
streets, and passing the Hellenistic gate, one comes to the palaestra, known to
be Perge's oldest building. Here, under the supervision of their teachers, the
youth of the city practised wrestling and underwent physical education.
According to an inscription this square edifice, consisting of an open area
surrounded by rooms, was dedicated to the Emperor Claudius (reigned 41-54 A.D.)
by a certain C. Julius Cornutus.

Perge, transformed by artisans into a city of marble, was truly magnificent,
with a faultless layout that would have been the envy of modern city planners.
In order to fully appreciate its grandeur today, one must visit the Antalya
Museum to see the hundreds of sculptures from Perge now housed there.

Among the famous men raised in this city can be cited the physician
Asklepiades, the sophist Varus, and the mathematician Apollonios.

Perge has been under excavation by Turkish archaeologists since 1946.

SILLYON

About
35 km. along the Antalya-Alanya highway, you turn north and continue 8 km. until
Silyon is reached. It was built on an ellipse-shaped table-like plateau rising
above the flat plain. Due to its location the surrounding areas can easily be
seen, and in fact the view stretches as far as the Mediterranean. It was settled
in the 4th century B.C. and it lived not only through the Hellenistic, Roman and
Byzantine periods, but was also used by the Seljuks who also added buildings and
increased its wealth. Some of its interesting sights are the stadium, gymnasium,
turrets, Seljuk mosque, the theater whose proscenium is buried under rocks, and
the sports arena

This
Pamphylian town, located between Perge and Aspendos, is situated on top of a
flat-topped hill with almost vertical flanks. With its unusual physical
formation, the hill is easily recognizable even from a distance. Strabo mentions
in his writings that the city, some 40 stad or 7.2 km, inland, was visible from
Perge.

It is generally accepted that Sillyon, like other cities in
Pamphylia, was founded after the Trojan War by the heroes Mopsos and Calchas. A
statue base found in Sillyon bears Mopsos' name.

Sillyon began to mint coinage in its own name in the third
century B.C. On these coins the name of the city was written as Sylviys, which
must have been changed to Sillyon in the Roman era.

The name Sillyon is almost never mentioned in history except,
for its appearance in Arrianos' notes on the campaigns of Alexander the Great.
These notes indicate that the reaction of Sillyon's residents to Alexander was
hostile, in contrast to that of Perge, and that they defended themselves from a
strong position, relying on mercenaries as well as soldiers. In any case it
appears that Sillyon had been a military base since Persian times; the remains
of buildings and fortifications from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and
Seljuk epochs reveal that the city preserved its military character for a long
time.

Climbing a simple path from Yanköy toward the hill, the first
thing one encounters is the lower gate. Consisting of a horseshoe-shaped court
with two rectangular towers. It is similar to Perge's Hellenistic gate in its
plan and masonry. On this basis it has been dated to the third century B.C.

Because Sillyon is situated on a steep-sided hill, there was
no need to surround the city with walls. It was only in the west and south-west
sections where the incline is at its slightest, that walls, towers, and ramparts
were erected. These exhibit painstaking stonework and considerable technical
expertise.

The city's oldest ruins lie north-east of the main entrance
gate. The first structure one encounters here is a two-storey,
high-walled building from the Byzantine era; although it is in good condition,
its function has not yet been ascertained. At the end of its lies one of
Sillyon's most important structures, a 7x55 metre palaestra of Hellenistic date.
On its west wall are ten windows of differing dimensions. A little further on is
a small Hellenistic building with an elegant door and carefully executed
masonry. The building's fame is derived from an inscription written on the door
in the local Pamphylian dialect. The inscription, thirty lines in length, is the
longest and most important document in this dealect known today. It is a pity
that a portion of the inscription was lost when a hole was made in the door at a
later date. While the dialect, written in Greek characters, was used in a large
part of Pamphylian until the first century A.D., it was gradually forgotten
after that date and was replaced by Greek.

At the southern edge of the plateau one encounters a sad
scene. The Sillyon theatre and the odeon beside it, described as being in an
excellent state of preservation in the 1884 Pamphylian travel notes of the
Austrian researcher Lanckoronski, disappeared down the hill in a landslide in
1969; only eleven rows of seats from the cavea were left in place.

Immediately after the theatre, rock-cut stairs with
balustrades along the sides lead to Hellenistic houses of square or rectangular
plan constructed in the meticulous stonework typical of that period. Going east,
one sees a small Hellenistic temple. Rising above a podium measuring 7.30x11.00
metres, the temple's cella wall and stylobate are still standing. According to
existing architectural remains, the temple was of the Doric prostyle type.

From the beginning of the thirteenth century the Seljuks
settled in Sillyon in small groups, just as they did in certain other cities. In
accordance with their custom they built a small, thin-walled, crenelated citadel
on the acropolis. The most interesting building that has survived from the
Seljuk period is a square, domed mosque in the north-west part of the acropolis.

Other than a few Byzantine and Seljuk buildings there are no
important remains at the eastern end of the acropolis. On returning to the
village from the upper gate, one passes a necropolis area consisting of simple
graves, before arriving at a well preserved tower. Square in plan, the tower has
two floors, with a door opening into the lower one. Doors on the upper level
placed there for defensive purposes open onto the ramparts. The stadium is on a
terrace south-west of the tower. It is in very poor condition; all that remains
are the tiers of seats mounted on vaults running along its western length.

There could not have been enough springs in the area to ensure
an adequate water supply, since it is clear that importance was given to the
construction of covered and open cisterns from the Hellenistic period onward.

SIDE

Side,
ancient Pamphylia's largest port, is situated on a small peninsula extending
north-south into the sea.

Strabo and Arrianos both record that Side was settled from Kyme, city in
Aeolia, a region of western Anatolia. Most probably, this colonization occurred
in the seventh century B.C. According to Arrianos, when settlers from Kyme came
to Side, they could not understand the dialect. After a short while, the
influence of this indigenous tongue was so great that the newcomers forgot their
native Greek and started using the language of Side. Excavations have revealed
several inscriptions written in this language. The inscriptions, dating from the
third and second centuries B.C., remain undeciphered, but testify that the local
language was still use several centuries after colonization. Another object
found in Side excavations, a basalt column base from the seventh century B.C.
and attributable to the Neo Hittites, provides other evidence of the site's
early history. The word "side" is Anatolian in origin and means
pomegranate.

Next to no information exists concerning Side under Lydian and Persian
sovereignty. Nevertheless, the fact that Side minted its own coins during the
fifth century B.C. while under Persian dominion, shows that it still possessed a
great measure of independence.

In 333 A.D., despite its strong land and sea walls, Side surrendered to
Alexander the Great without a fight.

For a long period following the death of Alexander, Side came under the
dominion of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid Empires, and in 190 B.C. witnessed a
great naval battle. This encounter took place between the fleet of Rhodes,
acting with the support of Rome and Pergamum, and the fleet of Antiochos III,
the king of Syria, under the command of the famous Carthaginian Hannibal. Side
took the side of Hannibal, but the Rhodian forces carried the day.

In the second century B.C. Side was able to stave off the forces of the
Attaleids of Pergamum and preserve its independence, becoming a wealthy
commercial, intellectual, and entertainment centre. Side's importance in the
Eastern Mediterranean as an educational and cultural centre can be gauged by the
fact that Antiochos VII, who ascended the throne of Syria in 138 B.C., was sent
to Side in his youth to receive has education.

In the first century B.C. misfortune overtook Side in the form of Cilician
pirates, who seized the city and turned it into a naval base and slave market.
The people of Side seem to have tolerated the pirates because of the highly
profitable nature of this commerce, which, however, gave the city a bad name in
the region. Stratonicus, a man famous for his retorts and witticisms, answered
the question, "Who are the worst, most treacherous people?" saying,
"In Pamphylia the people of Phaselis, but in the whole world the people of
Side". The famous Roman general Pompey ended the reign of the pirates in 67
b.C. and Side, by erecting monuments and statues in his honour, tried to erase
its bad name.

Under Roman rule, Side prospered during a second golden age, especially in
the second and third centuries when it became a metropolis ,seat of the
provincial governor and his administrative staff. Due to its large harbour. Side
in this era enjoyed commercial relations throughout the Mediterranean
particularly with Egypt. Imported goods left Side for central Anatolia by road.
Side's importance as a commercial centre can be ascertained by the hundreds of
shops occupying not only the main streets, but also the narrowest of side
streets and alleys. At the same time it continued as an important slave trading
centre. Documents from the Imperial Roman period found in Egypt report that
these slaves were sent to Side mainly from Africa. It is also known that Side
possessed a large commercial fleet which did not pass up opportunities to commit
piracy. Maritime commerce was the origin of the wealth of many merchants. These
wealthy men did not work solely to increase their fortunes, but also provided
for activities benefiting the people of the city, donating large sums to
organize competitions and games, as well as to beautify the city and create
social and religious organizations. One inscription found above a late period
gate reports that two people, whose names cannot be made out, had a
deipnisterion or soup kitchen erected for the use of government employees and
the council of elders. A woman named Modesta organized gladiatorial events;
Tuesianos, another inhabitant of Side, organized a feast to celebrate the return
of the seamen to Side; and a husband and wife pair of philanthropists provided
for the repairs of Side'' water system out of their own pockets. A great
proportion of the buildings and monuments still standing at Side date to this
magnificent epoch.

Side's last years of plenty occurred in the fifth and sixth centuries A:D.
when it served as the seat of the Bishopric of Eastern Pamphylia. At this time
there was much consturction, and the city expanded beyond the extant city walls.
Starting in the middle of the seventh century, destructive raids by Arab fleets
on the southern coast of Anatolia transformed it into a war zone. Side was
naturally, affected, and excavations have uncovered ashy burnt layers showing
that the city was entirely burnt by Arabs.

According to the twelfth century Arab geographer Idrisi, Side was at one time
a large and populous city, but after being sacked it was abandoned by its
inhabitants, who moved to Antalya, two days' journey away; as a result,
according to Idrisi, Side became known as Old Antalya.

In order to protect itself from threats coming by land or sea, Side was
surrounded on all four sides by high walls. The sea
walls have been much altered over the centuries due to repair and rebuilding and
have most much of their original appearance; they have even collapsed in several
places. By contrast, the land walls and their towers are almost whole, due to
their having been carefully constructed of conglomerate stone. The city is
entered through two gates in the eastern fortification wall. The large main gate
was built during the Hellenistic period. It is flanked by two towers and gives
onto a horseshoe-shaped courtyard. After passing through the courtyard and a
square room, one enters the city. As is the case in Perge, the gate and
courtyard complex were ornamented with many storeys of columns in the second
century A.D. and transformed into a ceremonial place of honour. The second
largest city gate, also belonging to the Hellenisitic period, lies on the
north-east of the city; behind its square towers lies a courtyard that is also
square in form.

The main street starts from this north-eastern gate and stretches all the way
to the peninsula's western tip in an almost completely straight line. Along this
street lay the city's principal official buildings and its squares. Excavations
have revealed a perfectly planned sewer system. This system, covered with
vaults, lay under the main street as well as the smaller streets.

Outside the city wall and opposite the main gate lies the nymphaeum, a
monumental fountain consisting of a richly ornamented facade with three niches
and with a fountain in front. Piped-in water used to flow from spouts in the
middle of these niches.

The agora, the city's centre of commercial and cultural activity, lay along
an arcaded street. It can be entered today from immediately opposite the museum.
This square space was surrounded on all four sides by porticoes. Rows of stores
can still be observed running behind the north-east and north-west porticoes. An
interesting vaulted building lies in the agora's south-west corner adjacent to
the theatre, this served as the city's latrium or public toilets and is the most
highly ornamented and best preserved example in Anatolia. Sewers carried away
the waste from this establishment, which had a 24-toilet capacity, while in
front of the building ran a channel carrying only purified water.

In the middle of the agora lay a circular temple dedicated to Tyche
(Fortune). All that is left today is the podium of this structure, but
originally twelve columns ran around its exterior and the temple was topped by a
pyramidal roof.

This agora was linked to a second, state agora by a street running along its
southern edge. This agora, too, was square in plan and was enclosed by porticoes
of lonic columns. It is believed that the high platform in the middle of the
agora was used for the display and sale of slaves. Behind the eastern portico
lay a large ornamented three-chambered building which, due to its architectural
peculiarities, is thought to have been either an imperial palace or a library.
From extant remains it can be ascertained that the building was originally two
storeys and richly adorned with statues. Aside from a statue of Nemesis, which
has been left in place to recall the original decorative style, all the statues
found during excavation have been removed to the Side Museum.

The agora bathhouse, today used as the museum, is a five-room Byzantine
structure dating to the fifth century A.D. It is entered through two arched
doorways. The first room, possessing a small cold water pool, was the
frigidarium. From here one passes to a stone-domed sweating room or lokonicum.
The third and largest of the structure's rooms is the hot room or caldarium. The
bath's heating system ran beneath the marble flooring. From the caldarium one
can enter the two-room tepidarium or washing area through a narrow door. In
front of the bath was a palaestra with a porticoed courtyard where men could
excercise before bathing.

Next to the triumphal arch, which at a late date was used a city gate, lies a
beautiful monument, partially restored in recent years. This monument consists
of a niche between two aedicules and, according to an inscription found in the
architrave, was built in 74 A.D. in memory of the Emperor Vespasion and his son
Titus. During the construction of the late period city wall in the fourth
century A.D., this monument was brought here from elsewhere in the city and
turned into a fountain.

The theatre is the only extant example of its plan and construction type to
be fount in Anatolia. It was erected in the second century A.D. on Hellenistic
foundations. Because Side is virtually flat, the theatre's upper banks had to be
built into the only natural rise available, which is not very steep, while the
lower banks of seats overlay an arched substructure. Twenty nine seating levels
can be counted below the 3.30 metre-wide diazoma, which divides the cavea in
two. In the upper section only twenty two of the original twenty nine rows
survive. Thus, this was Pamphylia's largest theatre and had a seating capacity
of 16-17.000 people. In the outside gallery of the lower section, staircases
rose to the diazoma. From interior galleries, staircases ascended to the
theatre's upper section. The galleries' two ends probably contained paradoses,
enabling them to be used as entrances for theatre staff and actors.

The orchestra was slightly larger than a semicircle, and at a late date it
was surrounded by a nigh thick wall that rendered inoperative the lowest banks
of seats. This wall was covered with waterproof pink plaster which allowed the
orchestra to be filled from time to time with water for reenactments of naval
battles and other sports; it no doubt also served as a pit for displays of wild
animal combat. These displays usually pitted predatory animals against one
another or against gladiators. Sometimes even unarmed people-criminals, slaves,
and prisoners-were set against wild animals, and their helpless struggle was
followed with rude glee.

A stage building rose off a wide podium behind the orchestra. It consisted of
a two-storey facade 63 metres in length. On the podium, five narrow doors linked
the orchestra ornamented with coloumns, niches and statues, and its lower storey
contained five alrge openings allowing for the actors, and its entrance. Between
these openings, just as in the theatre at Perge, were marble friezes
illustrating Dionysiac themes. The stage building's reliefs have been
transported to the agora for the duration of the restoration work which has
newly begun is this area.

During the troubles of the fourth century A.D., a new fortification wall was
built, and this wall took advantage of the high back wall of the stage building.
During the fifth and sixth centuries A.D., the theatre was used as an open-air
church, and the parados sections were decorated with floor mosaics and
transformed into small chapels.

The most varied and beautiful temples in all of Pamphylia are to be found in
Side. Two stupendous temples rose on the peninsula's southern point, right next
to each other, the sea and the harbour. These temples were built in the second
half of the second century A.D. Consisting entirely of marble, they are of the
peripteros type and employ the Corinthian order. The short sides have six
columns each, the long sides eleven. In the fifth century A.D. a large basilica
was built in front of these temples, incorporating them into its atrium. Despite
being heavily damaged, the temples' ancient configuration can be determined.
Because Side's patron goddess was Athena, it is highly probable that one of the
temples was dedicated to Athena, who in consequence, would have been featured
extremely prominently as a protectress of the harbour and of sailors. As for the
other temple, it must have been dedicated to Apollo. Restoration of the Temple
of Apollo is ongoing.

Further on, to the east of the last big square off the arcaded street, lies a
semicircular temple dedicated to the god Men. The cella of this temple was
entered from the west by a staircase up the high podium. At the top of the
stairs are four Corinthian columns. This temple dates to the end of the second
century A.D.

Between the arcaded street and the theatre lie the remains of an early Roman
temple. Of this temple, which is of the pseudo-peripteral type, only the podium
remains. The podium remains is ascended from the north by seven steps. In front
of the cella rise four granite Corinthian columns. Because of its proximity to
the theatre, it is thought that this temple belonged to Dionysos.

Dating to the third century A.D., the biggest of Side's three public baths
lies on the arcaded street. Its dimensions are 40x50 metres and it is a
beautiful building in a fine state f preservation. Its various rooms are
vaulted. The broad courtyard in front of this building was most likely used as a
palaestra.

In order to satisfy their for a plentiful water supply, the people of Side
went to almost superhuman lengths. Water from the head of the Melas river
(today's Manavgat Çayı) reached Side after an adventuresome 30 kilometre
journey on two-storeyed arched aqueducts, passing through channels carved out of
cliffs, and vaulted tunnels and across valleys before it was collected in city
cisterns, from which it was distributed in clay pipes.

Large cemeteries lie outside the city walls. In these cemeteries one can
still see many types of graves, be they simple square holes, plain or carved
sarcophagi, or magnificent memorials in the form of temples. These areas were
called necropoli, cities of the dead. The most beautiful of these can be found
in the western cemetery near the sea. On a podium reached by stairs rises a
building shaped like a temple with four columns. Inside this building marble
sarcophagi are situated in arched niches. This building dates to the second
century A.D., and together with its ornamented courtyard must have served as the
tomb of a wealthy family.

Side has been excavated by Turkish archaeologists since 1947, and excavations
continue intermiltently.